heavy metals
it was time to get out of my comfort zone and try something really different.
guess i can say that i've written a (crappy?) drum kit part now!
the coming dawn
after being a bit experimental (at least non-melodic for sure) with the last one, i wanted to lean hard into strong, simple melodies and straightforward orchestration. i hadn’t worked with choir in a while, and the melodies and the tempo leant themselves to the use of voices.
the cave
i wanted to impart the feeling of a tight space combined with the little noises and drips of water. the magic of 'col legno' bowing (tapping the notes with the wooden part of the bow) really helps with all of those aspects.
main theme from “star trek: first contact”
i tend to get obsessed with john williams & michael giacchino compositions, but once in a while i remember that jerry goldsmith existed. and not only did he exist, he wrote some of the best & most varied themes out there!
driving in my truck recently, the end credits suite from “star trek: first contact” popped up in the shuffle and i knew that two things needed to happen: one, i need to learn to play the main theme on piano (it’s not that hard of a tune, and my piano skills really aren’t that bad), and that i wanted to do something with it via writing.
i decided that a theme and variations was not something i felt like doing today, so i decided that i could just write some arrangements from the simple piano sheet music (i spend about three minutes transcribing the melody, felt happy that i nailed the first few bars, then found a copy of the sheet music on the lines). ended up cranking out string orchestra, strings and woodwinds and full orchestra versions. these are not supposed to be perfect transcriptions & simplifications, but my own tiny twist on things.
working on this, i marveled at how simple the melody is (and the secondary melodies) but was really impressed at how non-complex the harmonic material is.
my biggest realization was the wonderful dichotomy of jerry goldsmith that he could get so weird, but also so beautiful, and this tune is the latter.
waning
i started this as a semi-fast action sequence, but something just didn’t sound right. i slowed things down and with the melody i had written it got a wonderful durge feeling. adding in the vibes and tubular bells leant an additional mysterious quality.
the build-up
it was time for some percussion-only music again, plus it was fun to restrict myself to 60bpm.
a need for rest
i went into this one with no real goal - just improv’d a little melody, then messed with it for a b theme. instrumentation came later.
battle for the meadow
i wanted to experiment with taking melodic material from a slower, calmer piece and transforming it into an action sequence.
in the end, i messed with the melodies a bit too much and the connection isn’t quite there. but it still turned out pretty good, all things considered.
meadow walk
it has been a wild few months since my last lunch special, so i wanted to write something relaxing. this should fit the bill.
toward the future
an attempt to write something that starts off inward looking, but then builds towards a sense of optimism.
thru the woods
i wanted to keep things simple here and see what happened to a few six-bar figures when you don’t change them (too much), but have the tempo gradually increase throughout the piece.
release
it’s been a crazy few months, and my desire to write anything came to a grinding halt. which sucks.
i decided to nip that in the bud and put digital pencil to digital paper and at least get something out there. i guess sometimes when you force yourself to create, it can work as i really like this one.
walking
i’ve been starting all of my pieces on a piano staff lately, but then either move everything to other instruments, or make the piano part a non-focus. wanted to do my best to make this a piano-only composition this time. alas, i still ended up adding strings.
maybe next time.
"flow like melancholy"
it’s been a while since i wrote for just strings, so that was one focus. the other was keeping myself in a x/8 time signature, as I’ve been stuck in an x/4 rut for a while.
sublight
this started off as just an experiment in exploiting triplets, but then it started sounding very much like a relaxed day, putting around in a lifeless star system on board the Enterprise.
also, i’m trialing out a thing with posting a video of the score too. just for fun…
offset
an experiment in shifting time signatures.
forming up
wanted to play with some percussion again, as it had been a while since i focused on it. turned out to be quite fun, i think.
a wander in the woods
playing around with a new string sample library, which has solo instruments! yay!
really though, trying to remind myself that i can in fact just write plain jane harmony parts - i don’t need to blaze a new trail and make things sound super unique.
overall, really happy with this one.
trumpet solo no. 1
the two-against-three (left hand vs right hand) feel in the piano is fun.
forced myself to write lower in the trumpet range (could have gone lower), as i tend to write trumpet parts in the upper half of the staff, if not higher. i’m sure trumpet players love that…
trumpet work in progress. missed putting something up in june, but this one started then.